Gregory Felhofer and his girlfriend purchased a vacant lot to build a home. By the time they built it and moved in, they were married. Recently, a state appeals court rejected a claim that the property was not survivorship marital property.

Circuit courts can still void marriages after one spouse dies, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled, meaning a petitioner can challenge a surviving spouse’s share of an estate on the grounds that the marriage should be voided.

The State Bar of Wisconsin is set to host the National Mock Trial competition next spring, and organizers of the event are pleased to announce that they have received the largest donation to date – $25,000 – from the Wisconsin Law Foundation.

Dec. 19, 2012 – Twenty-six sessions from the State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE Litigation, Dispute Resolution & Appellate Practice, Real Estate & Business Law, and Health, Labor & Employment Law institutes will be available as webcast seminars in January. Institute webcasts are free for institute attendees and are included in the cost of the Ultimate Pass.

Dec. 4, 2012 – Gustavo Montalvo returned to Wisconsin after several years to learn that his wife divorced him and sold the house they owned. He wasn't aware of these events, and he never signed the real estate documents allowing transfer of the house.

Aug. 15, 2012 – Seventeen sessions from State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE Litigation, Dispute Resolution & Appellate Practice and the Real Estate & Business Law June institutes are now available as webcast seminars. More sessions will be announced as they become available.

Aug. 15, 2012 – Seventeen sessions from State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE Litigation, Dispute Resolution & Appellate Practice and the Real Estate & Business Law June institutes are now available as webcast seminars. More sessions will be announced as they become available.

May 16, 2012 – State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE® has just released the 2012 supplement to the Wisconsin Law of Easements and Restrictive Covenants, the definitive text on this crucial aspect of real property. This mainstay of PINNACLE's property law library analyzes the law underlying these encumbrances and addresses various prospective and evolving issues.

May 8, 2012 – In a unanimous decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court recently clarified that a billboard owner who leases land to post a billboard is entitled to just compensation, in addition to relocation expenses, when the government takes the land for public use.

April 4, 2012 – The State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE®Drafter's Guide to Wisconsin Condominium Documents begins with the statutes but goes far beyond. Every attorney who deals with, or may someday deal with, condominiums should have this guide in their library.

April 4, 2012 – A new landlord-tenant bill was recently signed into law, making significant changes and creating some confusion as to the ultimate impact on landlords and tenants. In this article, Milwaukee attorney Tristan Pettit explains the bill's major changes.

March 27, 2012 – A creditor with a judgment against a debtor corporation sought to compel testimony from a third-party entity with the same owner hoping to uncover information about the debtor corporation's assets. Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that such testimony could not be compelled.

March 26, 2012 – The Wisconsin Supreme Court accepted two new cases. One asks if the trial court properly employed the harmless error doctrine in denying a defendant's plea withdrawal motion without a hearing. The other asks if a defendant's constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures was violated when police covertly installed a GPS tracking device.

March 21, 2012 – The State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE® Litigation, Dispute Resolution & Appellate Practice Institute and the Real Estate and Business Law Institute plenary speakers address the importance of jury trials, how information technology continues to change the practice of law, and understanding what clients are experiencing in today's business environment. Both institutes are in Wisconsin Dells at the Chula Vista.

March 21, 2012 – In March 2011, the legislature suspended the Public Service Commission's wind siting rules for the uniform local regulation of wind power, Wis. Admin. Code chapter PSC 128. With the close of the 2011-2012 legislative session on March 15, 2012, those rules have now gone into effect.

March 16, 2012 – The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently clarified the punishment for willfully or negligently causing a forest fire: double damages plus interest. That spells bad news for a defendant (and insurance companies), who must now pay more than $1 million in damages.

March 8, 2012 – Guano happens. In 2007, it happened to a northern Wisconsin home. But the homeowners, forced to demolish the home because of it, aren't covered for the loss, according to a recent decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

March 5, 2012 – The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a law firm must disclose redacted portions of legal bills to a Juneau County newspaper under the state's open records laws. The case is one of four recently accepted for review during the current term.

March 1, 2012 – A Milwaukee man will have another shot to argue that he didn’t own the floating barge that sank in the Menomonee River in 2006 and should not be responsible for the hefty fine levied against him, the Wisconsin Supreme Court recently determined.

Feb. 1, 2012 – Attorneys who engage in real estate development, land use, environmental, municipal, or general practice or who represent a land-use-related industry will want to attend the State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE™ Current Issues in Land Use Law seminar on March 15 in Madison, offered simultaneously via webcast.

Jan. 5, 2012 – A state appeals court recently clarified what happens when a property owner acquires disputed property by adverse possession but is not "in possession" of it when an adverse possession claim is commenced.

Dec. 22, 2011 – In condemnation proceedings, the government is allowed to introduce evidence of environmental contamination and future remediation costs to reduce the just compensation it must pay to a property owner, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Dec. 15, 2011 – A Mexican national who pled guilty to second-degree sexual assault of a child 18 years ago and served his prison sentence wants to withdraw his plea to avoid deportation. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, which accepted review of four new cases, will decide if he can.

Dec. 21, 2011 – Those municipal ordinances that restrict and penalize certain acts or omissions of residential landlords are now unenforceable, under a new law effective today. In this article, Madison attorney Ed Lawton explains what landlord-tenant lawyers should know.

Dec. 9, 2011 – A consumer who claims he did not receive the requisite number of documents at his mortgage loan closing will have an opportunity to make that case to a federal jury, a panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

Dec. 1, 2011 – A newly purchased home that was under renovation when destroyed by explosion and subsequent fire is fully covered by insurance, although the homeowners had never spent the night there, a state appeals court recently ruled.

Nov. 16, 2011 – A bill passed in both the Wisconsin Assembly and the Senate and awaiting Gov. Walker's consideration would preempt Wisconsin courts from adopting a unitary duty of care to trespassers. Currently, possessors of real property have no duty to trespassers, besides refraining from willful, wanton, or reckless conduct causing injury or death without justification.

Sept. 20, 2011 – A railroad company that sold its spur line but reserved a right to serve an existing customer should have reserved the right to serve the customer's facility instead, if that was the intention.

Aug. 24, 2011 – A Wisconsin appeals court recently ruled that a loan agreement designating one loan as the "second mortgage" controlled, although recorded with the register of deeds before another mortgage.

Aug. 17, 2011 – In this video, Madison attorney Reginald A. Emshoff, Capital Valuation Group Inc., discusses the concerns and opportunities that commonly arise in buying and selling a business, including how to advise a client preparing to buy or sell a business.